When social identities intersect: understanding inequities in growth outcomes by religion- caste and religion-tribe as intersecting strata of social hierarchy for Muslim and Hindu children in India.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chatterjee P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10268355 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
When social identities intersect: understanding inequities in growth outcomes by religion- caste and religion-tribe as intersecting strata of social hierarchy for Muslim and Hindu children in India.
Chatterjee Pritha P Chen Jarvis J Yousafzai Aisha A Kawachi Ichiro I Subramanian S V SV
International journal for equity in health 20230614 1
<h4>Background</h4>Minority social status determined by religion, caste and tribal group affiliations, are usually treated as independent dimensions of inequities in India. This masks relative privileges and disadvantages at the intersections of religion-caste and religion-tribal group affiliations, and their associations with population health disparities.<h4>Methods</h4>Our analysis was motivated by applications of the intersectionality framework in public health, which underlines how differen ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:The theory of intersectionality proposes that an individual's experience of society has aspects that are irreducible to the sum of one's various identities considered individually, but are "greater than the sum of their parts". In recent years, this framework has become a frequent topic of discussion both in social sciences and among popular movements for social justice. In this work, we show that the effects of intersectional identities can be statistically observed in empirical data using information theory, particularly the partial information decomposition framework. We show that, when considering the predictive relationship between various identity categories such as race and sex, on outcomes such as income, health and wellness, robust statistical synergies appear. These synergies show that there are joint-effects of identities on outcomes that are irreducible to any identity considered individually and only appear when specific categories are considered together (for example, there is a large, synergistic effect of race and sex considered jointly on income irreducible to either race or sex). Furthermore, these synergies are robust over time, remaining largely constant year-to-year. We then show using synthetic data that the most widely used method of assessing intersectionalities in data (linear regression with multiplicative interaction coefficients) fails to disambiguate between truly synergistic, greater-than-the-sum-of-their-parts interactions, and redundant interactions. We explore the significance of these two distinct types of interactions in the context of making inferences about intersectional relationships in data and the importance of being able to reliably differentiate the two. Finally, we conclude that information theory, as a model-free framework sensitive to nonlinearities and synergies in data, is a natural method by which to explore the space of higher-order social dynamics.
| S-EPMC9611752 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Interpersonal supports are protective against multiple negative health outcomes for youth such as emotional distress and substance use. However, finding interpersonal support may be difficult for youth exposed to intersecting racism, heterosexism, and cisgenderism, who may feel they are "outsiders within" their multiple communities. This study explores disparities in interpersonal supports for youth at different sociodemographic intersections. The 2019 Minnesota Student Survey includes data from 80,456 high school students, including measures of four interpersonal supports: feeling cared about by parents, other adult relatives, friends, and community adults. Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection analysis was used to examine all interactions among four social identities/positions (racialized/ethnic identity, sexual identity, gender identity, sex assigned at birth) to identify groups who report different rates of caring from each source (Bonferroni adjusted p<.05). In the overall sample, 69.24% perceived the highest level of caring ("very much") from parents, 50.09% from other adult relatives, 39.94% from friends, and 15.03% from community adults. Models identified considerable differences in each source of support. For example, more than 72% of straight, cisgender youth reported their parents cared about them very much, but youth who identified as LGBQ and TGD or gender-questioning were much less likely to report high parent caring (less than 36%) across multiple racialized/ethnic identities and regardless of sex assigned at birth. Findings highlight the importance of better understanding the ways interpersonal support might differ across groups, and underscore a need for intersectionality-tailored interventions to develop protective interpersonal supports for LGBTQ+ youth, rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
| S-EPMC10972541 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Scholarship linking social contextual measures to health outcomes has grown in recent decades, but the role of individuals' intersecting identities in structuring social contexts to influence health remains unclear. Building on an existing intersectionality framework, we conceptualize how this may occur through social relationships. Then, we apply this framework to analyze whether adolescent peer social contextual disadvantage influences life-course obesity heterogeneously by individual gender, race, and early-life income. We take a life course approach as adolescence is a sensitive period for both social development and adult obesity development. In our analysis, we use cohort data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and leverage quasi-experimental variation in adolescent peers to addresses common sources of bias in prior observational studies. We find that among Black men from lower-income households in adolescence, there is a strong negative relationship between adolescent peer economic disadvantage and adult obesity that strengthens over time. By contrast, among Black women across adolescent household income levels, we find a strong positive relationship between adolescent peer economic disadvantage and obesity that emerges as women leave high school and endures into mid-adulthood. Among non-Black women, a more modest positive relationship appears between peer disadvantage and obesity. Among non-Black men, we find no relationship. These diverging patterns suggest that the pathways through which adolescent peer economic disadvantage influences health may differ or produce differential effects based on intersecting race, gender, and socioeconomic identities. Such heterogenous effects offer new insights, and future directions, for better understanding social life-course determinants of adult health and addressing inequities.
| S-EPMC8631455 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite India's substantial investments in primary schooling, gaps in schooling persist across gender and caste-with scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) girls being particularly disadvantaged. The representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures may help to mitigate this disadvantage. Specifically, because of her intersecting gender and caste/tribe identities, a SC/ST woman legislator might maintain a strong sense of solidarity especially with SC/ST girls and women, and support legislative policies benefitting SC/ST girls. Consequently, for this reason, we expect that living in a district where SC/ST women represent in state legislatures in a higher proportion may increase SC/ST girls' primary school completion, progression and performance. We tested this hypothesis using district-level data between 2000 and 2004 from the Indian Election Commission, the 2004/5 India Human Development Survey, and the Indian Census of 2001. As expected, the representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures was positively associated with SC/ST girls' grade completion and age-appropriate grade progression but was apparent not SC/ST girls' primary-school performance. SC/ST women's representation in state legislatures may reduce gender-caste gaps in primary-school attainment in India.
| S-EPMC5668905 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Most ageism research has focused on prejudice against older people without considering their multiple intersecting identities. We investigated perceptions of ageist acts that targeted older individuals with intersecting racial (Black/White) and gender identities (men/women). Both young (18-29) and older (65+) adult Americans evaluated the acceptability of a variety of instances of hostile and benevolent ageism. Replicating prior work, benevolent ageism was seen as more acceptable compared to hostile ageism, and young adults rated ageist acts as more acceptable than older adults. Small intersectional identity effects were observed such that young adult participants perceived older White men to be the most acceptable targets of hostile ageism. Our research suggests that ageism is viewed differently depending on the age of the perceiver and the type of behavior exhibited. These findings also suggest intersectional memberships should be considered, but further research is needed given the relatively small effect sizes.
| S-EPMC10201080 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that can be controlled with appropriate medicinal treatment. Adherence to pharmacological treatment is therefore critical. Self-efficacy plays a key role in adherence to medicine in chronic diseases, including asthma. Additionally, ethnic minorities have poor adherence to medicines. However, the impact of religion on self-efficacy and adherence is understudied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the role of self-efficacy in adherence to asthma medicine treatment and the influence of religion on self-efficacy among young, Muslim minority women. A focus group and individual interviews with 10 Muslim minority women (14⁻24 years of age) living in Denmark were conducted. Data analysis was deductive using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and modes of agency. Overall, religion was shown to affect self-efficacy. The women reported changes in self-perceived self-efficacy during the holy month of Ramadan. In addition, praying was used as an alternative to medicine for controlling asthma symptoms. However, the women did not perceive religion and treating asthma with medicine as mutually exclusive, but rather as coexisting for the shared goal of controlling asthma symptoms. It is important for healthcare professionals (HCPs) to be aware of the link between self-efficacy, religion and adherence to asthma medicine treatment. This awareness can aid HCPs in giving advice regarding adherence to asthma treatment, and when monitoring treatment to improve the quality of asthma care for young Muslim minority women.
| S-EPMC6165087 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The failure to reduce maternal mortality rates in high-burden countries has led to calls for a greater understanding of structural determinants of inequities in access to maternal health services. Caste is a socially constructed identity that imposes structural disadvantages on subordinate groups. Although a South Asian construct, the existence of caste as a structural social stratifier is actively rejected in Muslim Pakistan as a regressive symbol of Hinduism. In this inimical context, the possibility of caste as a driver of maternal health care inequities is not acknowledged and has, therefore, remained unexplored in Pakistan. The objective of the present study is to quantitatively assess the variation in the use of maternity services across different caste groups in Pakistan. The research also contributes to methodological innovation in modelling relationships between caste, mediating and/or confounding socio-economic factors and maternal health service indicators. A clustered, stratified survey sampled 1457 mothers in districts Jhelum and Layyah. Multivariable, multi-level (confounder-adjusted) logistic regression analysis showed "Low" caste mothers had higher odds of landlessness, no education, working in unskilled occupations, asset poverty, no antenatal care and a home-based birth with an unskilled attendant compared to "High" or "Middling" caste individuals. Despite the important role of caste in patterning socio-economic disadvantage, its indirect causal effect on maternal health care was predominantly mediated through mothers' education and household assets. Our findings suggest a need for group-specific policies, including constructing schools in low-caste dominant settlements, affirmative action with job quotas, redistributing agricultural lands and promoting industrial development in the poorer districts.
| S-EPMC9067991 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study examined the role of religion in xenophobic responses to the threat of Ebola. Religious communities often offer members strong social ties and social support, which may help members cope with psychological and physical threat, including global threats like Ebola. Our analysis of a nationally representative sample in the U.S. (N = 1,000) found that overall, the more vulnerable to Ebola people felt, the more they exhibited xenophobic responses, but this relationship was moderated by importance of religion. Those who perceived religion as more important in their lives exhibited weaker xenophobic reactions than those who perceived religion as less important. Furthermore, social connectedness measured by collectivism explained the moderating role of religion, suggesting that higher collectivism associated with religion served as a psychological buffer. Religious people showed attenuated threat responses because they had a stronger social system that may offer resources for its members to cope with psychological and physical threats. The current research highlights that different cultural groups react to increased threats in divergent ways.
| S-EPMC8311165 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This paper examines the impact of financial development and religion on social trust in rural China. We use multinomial logistic regression models with the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) Survey Data of 2013. The findings show that while financial development has a negative and significant impact on particular trust but no impact on general trust, religion has a positive relationship with general trust but insignificant relationship with particular trust. This study further investigates the impact of interaction between financial development and religion on social trust. The joint effect of financial development and religion has significant and positive relationship with particular trust. This implies that while financialization destroys the traditional relatives and friends trust based on lending and borrowing in rural area, religiosity lessens the negative impact of financialization on particular trust.
| S-EPMC7549770 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Understanding the experiences of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) students in science courses can help us foster inclusivity and belonging for these often excluded and unacknowledged students. Using social influence theory as a framework, we investigated the intersection between ethnic-racial identity and science identity in NHPI students to better understand their experiences in undergraduate Biology courses. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data and used concurrent triangulation design in our mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data include measures of student pre- and post-course science identity, self-efficacy, alignment with science values, sense of belonging, environmental concern, strength of ethnic-racial identity, and the interaction between ethnic-racial and science identity. We measured environmental concern because NHPI cultures often have strong connections with the environment that may overlap well with environmental science values. Qualitative data included short responses to survey questions that asked students to describe the interaction between their science identity and their ethnicity. We found that NHPI and non-NHPI students do not significantly differ in any construct we measured, nor do they experience different gains across a semester when comparing pre- and post-scores. We also found that NHPI students' feelings concerning the intersection of their ethnic and science identities are varied and complex, with some students expressing feelings of conflict and many others expressing a strengthening relationship between those identities. We discuss implications for instructors and encourage them to acknowledge the community culture of wealth NHPI students bring to the classroom because of their ethnic-racial identities.
| S-EPMC10756050 | biostudies-literature